Baseball

Bears Split with Harvard in Rolfe Division Doubleheader

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Senior pitcher Jamie Grillo (Bellingham, MA) picked up his fourth victory of the season as the Brown baseball team split a doubleheader with the Harvard Crimson at O'Donnell Field on Saturday.

The Bears (21-20, 9-5 Ivy) dropped the first game of the day 4-2 before downing the Crimson 6-5 in the nightcap to remain one game behind Harvard (14-20, 10-4 Ivy) in the Ivy's Rolfe Division standings.

In game two, Grillo (4-2) came up big for the Bears as he threw seven strong innings and gave up five runs on nine hits while striking out five. Junior Dan Spring (Washington, D.C.) came on in the eighth inning and held Harvard scoreless to earn his third save of the season. Spring struck out two batters in the last of the ninth with the tying run on first.

The nightcap was tied 3-3 until Brown erupted for three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-3 lead. Senior Rick Lynn (Towaco, NJ) put the Bears in control of the game with a key two-run single to center field that sent the game into overdrive.

Harvard came within a run of the Bears on a very unusual play in the bottom of the eighth. The Crimson's Trey Hendricks hit a long drive to right center that at first appeared to be snared up against the fence by the center fielder Lynn. However, the ball fell out of Lynn's glove amidst the outfield shrubbery beyond the fence and the Crimson pulled within a run of the Bears at 6-5 on a two-run homer.

In game one, Harvard struck early with two home runs in the first inning to take a quick 3-0 lead.

The Bears nearly took the lead in the third when Kutler just barely missed hitting a grand slam on a two-out shot to left field.

Nichols drilled a solo homer to left field in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-1 before Lynn came through with a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2.

Senior pitcher Jon Stern (Long Valley, NJ) (6-3) suffered the loss, as he went the distance for the Bears in game one. Stern threw six innings and gave up three earned runs on eight hits while striking out nine.

The Bears and Crimson will do it again on Sunday for another doubleheader beginning at noon.